Archive for September, 2016

A week of clean up and big harvests from the gardens. We are still working between the raindrops and crawling in the mud but our days start a bit later and end a bit earlier due to decreasing sunlight. We pulled out the long johns for chilly mornings and wear our caps until lunchtime. Scott wants to start a fire in the woodstove in the evenings. Autumn is here and honestly it is my favorite time of year. I love the produce that comes from the gardens and love the smell and colors that surround us when we are working. Such a good life.

We picked the last for the beans for the season…..always a signal to me that “summer” is over. This final small harvest will be on the “extra” table today for anyone that needs one last taste of summer….

Scott harvesting the final beans of the season.

The last little guys of summer.

SUMMER SHARE #18

498 pounds this week from the gardens. All delicious! Enjoy.

2 shares to go. Thursday October 13th is the last share pick up. We are sending the season surveys home this week with your share. We would love it if you took a few minutes to fill it out and let us know how you felt about the season. Your thoughts and opinions help us plan out the future of our CSA. Thank you!

SNACK PACK

Lettuce-Either a juicy head of a variety named “Nancy” or a bag of colorful leaf lettuce.

Leaf lettuce double rinsed and ready for the shares…..

Ginger-Yes! Ginger. This was our fun experiment this season. We are thrilled and plan to plant even more next year. This is just dug fresh ginger root. No need to even peel. Great for a hot tea or added to stir fry. I made a pot of chicken soup and added some for flavor and it was delicious. Store in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Brussels Sprouts-Another crop that we wait a long time to harvest. Brussels Sprouts are one of the first seed crops we start in the greenhouse in early Spring. Well worth the wait and a favorite Autumn treat. This is a first picking of sneaking a few of the bigger ones off the bottom.

Brussels Sprout Harvest.

Squash-Here they come. The true sign that Autumn has arrived.. This week’s choice it sweet dumpling. Great oven roasted or as a base for a creamy soup.

Sweet Potato-We are still making our way down the sweet potato rows. A white skinned/white fleshed variety this week called Boniato. Not as sweet as the “traditional” orange fleshed sweet potato. A great harvest! Enjoy.

Pac Choi-Fantastic added to fresh salads for a bit of crunch and snappy texture, great grilled and delicious in stir fry.

Dew on the Pac Choi in the morning.

Peppers-The crop is still chugging along and we are amazed. A few beauties in every share.

Sunflower Shoots-We had to add them with the first squash of the season. Their nutty flavor compliments the sweetness of winter squash so well. Cut and add a few to the top of roasted squash or a creamy squash soup. Keep in a sunny window and snip as needed.

Radishes-We harvested 2 varieties this week and provided a nice mix of this cool season treat.

Just pulled white icicle radishes.

FULL SHARE

Lettuce-A juicy head lettuce named “Nancy”.

A close up of the pretty head lettuce named “Nancy”.

Ginger-Our experiment this season. We purchased the root stock from what we believe to be the only organic ginger root source in the U.S. It shipped from Hawaii in February. We are thrilled with the yield and the flavor. Store in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer or your refrigerator. Makes a spicy flavorful hot tea, great added to soups and stews and of course a zippy addition to stir fry.

Cleaning the ginger after harvest.

Brussels Sprouts-A first harvest of this Autumn treat.

Just picked Brussels Sprouts.

Squash-A tasty sweet dumpling to kick off the season.

Sweet Potato-A delicious white variety named Boniato. Not as sweet as the orange fleshed variety of last week….fluffery too. Great baked.

Pac Choi-A cool season crop that we enjoy. Add to salads for a crunch, great grilled or stems and greens are perfect in stir fry. Long storage life too in a sealed bag in the fridge.

Pac choi and lettuces in the hoop house ready to be harvested.

Bagging up the pac choi.

Sweet Peppers-A few still in each share. The best peppers season we have every had.

Mini Sweet Peppers-A nice sized bag of this sweet assortment too.

Jimmy Nardello-Yet another sweet pepper treat.

Radishes-We harvested two varieties this week and a nice mix is in each share.

French breakfast radishes. Looks like christmas peppermint candy!

Sunflower Shoots-We planted these to pair with the 1st squash of the season. The nutty flavor is fantastic with the sweet flavor of roasted squash or wonderful as a garnish on a creamy soup. Keep in a sunny windowsill and snap as needed.

Cucumbers-A late season treat. A few in each share. The vines are loaded with blossoms-we need some sun!

A late season cucumber from our last planting in the rotation.

Zucchini-Another treat from the last planting in the rotation.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-HONEY, KALE, SWISS CHARD, SWEET POTATOES, BROCCOLI (FINGERS CROSSED-IT IS TAKING IT’S TIME WITH THESE WET, COLD CLOUDY DAYS) AND MORE…..

Rain. That seems to be the theme around here the last few weeks. It is wet but all is well. We are still behind on our clean up duties and we could use some bright, warm sunshine for the final crops in the garden as they seem to be hanging out in this wet cloudy weather. But overall we’re not complaining…. it has been a wonderful gardening season. Fall crops are a favorite and the return of the cool loving leafy greens from the hoophouse are always a treat. There is much to look forward to with Fall gardening.

SUMMER SHARE #17

Hard to believe 3 shares to go for the Summer Season…October 13th is the last pick up.

306 pounds from the garden this week. Enjoy!

SNACK PACK

Head Lettuce-A crisp, sweet flavorful head of Tropicana from the hoop house.

Head lettuce at harvest. Perfect!

Asian Greens Blend-A neat mix of kales, pac choi and mildly spicy mustards cut small. Add to fresh salads, or saute lightly in olive oil with garlic and onion. A perfect side for any meal.

Asian Greens blend ready to be cut.

Garlic-A great garlic year for us. 2 hard neck heads in snack pack share. Music and German Red are the varieties we grow.

Sweet Peppers-The pepper season is winding down. We picked an assortment and a few beauty are in each share.

Beans-The last of the beans for the season….enjoy. A great final harvest from the tri-colored blend.

Pretty yellow beans picked on our 1 day of sunshine.

Last green beans from the garden this season.

Sweet Potatoes!-They are here and they are amazing. Our best sweet potato harvest ever we think. We are very excited. Let the sweet potato bonanza begin! High yield, perfect size and a few JUMBO oddballs too. This variety is Beauregard. Great baked, added to stir fry or I love it in a hash combined with other potatoes and veggies.

Sweet potatoes at harvest.

Scott with 1 of the monsters we pulled out of the ground.

FULL SHARE

Head Lettuce-The last of the summer lettuces. Leaf lettuces and Fall transitional lettuces will finish out the season. The variety is Tropicana and it is delicious.

Just kidding. This is a stand of ornamental grass up by the house. It gets HUGE! fluffy plumes on top late in Fall and I love it…. The storms last week flopped it around a bit and Scott was going to tie it up.

Another great week for us. Some big harvests came from the gardens and we are chugging along with clean up. It is still pretty wet out there and we work through the raindrops to get the work done.

A downpour storm blew in quickly and I had a few more beans to pick….

We visited Uncle Jim and checked on the broom corn he planted for me as a treat. It’s ready and I have started Autumn Wreath Making.

Peeking on the broom corn with Uncle Jim. He planted it for me as a treat to make Autumn wreaths…..without him we would not have the amazing potatoes, sweet potatoes or sweet corn for our CSA. We are grateful for the space to plant at his farm.

1st wreath of the season.

The hoop house is transitioning again. Late Fall crops and over wintered spinach seedlings are filling up the available rows.

Scott prepping the soil for spinach.

We checked the sweet potatoes and the crop looks strong and we will start harvesting next week for sweet treats in the final shares. We planted 3 varieties this year and sampled them all. Delicious!

Just dug Sweet Potatoes.

A sampling of the 3 varieties we grew.

SUMMER SHARE #16 436 pounds of goodies from the garden this week! Wonderful late summer produce going home with members today.

4 shares to go in the season. October 6th is the last pick up.

SNACK PACK

Head Lettuce-A great harvest of romaine. This is the last of romaine for the season.

Edamame-Edible soybean. Steam or boil for 3-5 minutes in salty water. Drain. Pop from the pods and enjoy. Add to fresh salads or great in pasta sauce too.

Edamame all cleaned from the stalks ready for the shares.

Beans-Another great harvest of tricolored blend.

Yellow beans at harvest.

Mini Sweet Peppers-A pretty assortment of these cute little guys.

Mini Sweet Peppers. They look like bags of candy!

Sweet Peppers-We picked a variety again this week and a few will be in each share.

Potatoes-Fantastic Fingerlings. A great potato harvest. Fingerlings are delicious fried or broiled.

Carrots-Another harvest from our carrot trough. These carrots were planted in July.

Pulling carrots from the carrot trough.

Sweet summer onion-We held a few back for a late season surprise. Enjoy! A great sweet summer onion harvest. Store in the refrigerator.

FULL SHARE

Head lettuce-A bounty of romaine this week, and this is the last of the romaine for the season.

Tokyo Bekina-A favorite leafy green. Great fresh in salads, added to stirfry or wilted down and added to pasta dishes too. Tastes like a fluffy chinese cabbage.

Edamame-Edible soybean. We wait all season for this treat! Boil or steam pods in salty water 3-5 minutes. Drain and pop the beans from the pods and eat or add to sauces or salads.

Beans-Another jumbo bag this week of that fantastic tricolored blend. A great late season harvest.

Picking purple beans on a sunny day.

Scott weighing out the beans for Full Share.

Mini Sweet Peppers-A big bag of these tasty treats.

Finishing up the portioning of the mini sweet peppers.

Sweet Peppers-I think our best season ever with our pepper crop. We picked an assortment again this week and a few will appear in each share.

Potatoes-Fingerlings are the treat this week. Perfect roasted, broiled or pan fried.

Purple Potatoes too!-A nice sized bag of these wonders. Best mashed potatoes ever and fun to surprise people with lavender mashed potatoes for supper. Makes a great potato salad too.

Carrots-A snappy harvest from our carrot trough.

A crazy guy tucked into a full share.

Scott cutting the tops off after harvest before they go in the wringer washer.

A quick rinse in the old wringer washer.

Sweet Summer Onions-We held some back as a late season surprise. Store in the refrigerator.

Zucchini-The last zucchini planting is just starting to produce. Finally! We waited patiently through the cloudy, cold rainy days and here they come.

Big, heavy sheets of raindrops fell-almost 7 inches in 24 hours here and we are soggy. All is well just really wet!

Working through the rain……

A week that flew by. Small duties around the garden and a big pear harvest. We made our way down the long Fall brassica crop rows for a final weeding between the plants, tasty late season turnips were direct seeded in the hoop house along with several rows of late season leafy greens. Scott spent a few days fortifying our perimeter fence as deer believed we planted the edamame crop just for their midnight snack. We figured out where they were sneaking in and stopped the late night visits.

It’s the time of year to preserve the garden bounty for winter treats. All the sweet cantaloupes that we consider 2nds were cubed and frozen and tons of eggplant was roasted and froze too. An afternoon was spent with a friend making our very first batch of kimchi. A fun afternoon of experimenting and laughter.

Kimchi!

SUMMER SHARE #15

SNACK PACK

lettuce, beets, beans, peppers, baby arugula, pears

Head lettuce-A delicious head of summer crisp. This variety is called Tropicana and it is perfect!

Tropicana Lettuce soaking in the wash tub.

Beets!-A beautiful bunch from the hoop house. Tops too. Remember you can eat the greens raw added to salads and delicious sauteed.

Transitions. A favorite time of year. I love the dewy damp mornings, the sunlight is “thicker” somehow, and the colors outside becoming rich and bold. Our world slows a tiny bit and that feels pretty good. The last rotation of regular season lettuce was seeded in and the short late season crops are going out in the gardens. Lots of end of season plantings. More spinach is always a must as it is such a treat when the weather turns cold. We are way behind on our clean up goals from all the rain the past weeks and have high hopes that we make big progress on this important duty in the coming week.

Fall radishes seeded in.

Hard to believe we will be eating this in about 3 weeks….

Little seedlings in the greenhouse for Fall transplanting.

Happy 1st Day of school to all the kids in our CSA Family! Looking forward to a great year.

Maeve getting on the morning bus. First Day of 2nd Grade.

SUMMER SHARE #14

A delicious share this week….all 708 pounds of it.

SNACK PACK

Cherry Tomatoes-A colorful 1/2 pint in every share.

Tomatoes-A few to choose from. The patch is slowing down.

Leeks-A mid season variety from the garden this week.

Scott hauling the 1st load of leeks from the garden.

Potatoes-This week-Superior. A nice dry potato for potato leek soup or great baked or mashed.

Superior Potatoes all washed and ready for the shares.

Cutting Celery-Fluffy flavorful stalks for the potato leek soup or add a spark to fresh salads this week.

Beans-A great harvest! Last year we had a member request “big thick old fashioned yellow wax beans” on the end of year survey. Here they are! We paired them with a thick long green bean. Makes me think of my Grandma Lang and her black peppery bean soup she made for supper.

Scott getting ready to bag the beans.

Sweet Peppers-Yet another great pepper harvest. An assortment of these sweet gems are in every share.

1st load from the pepper rows.

Head Lettuce-A summer crunch this week from the hoop house. Perfect and sweet.

Summer crunch ready to harvest.

Pretty Tropicana.

Melon-A choice of cantaloupe or watermelon.

Melon harvest.

FULL SHARE

Cherry Tomatoes-A pint this week. The patch is slowing down after a bonanza cherry tomato summer.